This is a super small and tight course. The M3 is equipped with Cup tires vs GT-Rs on street tires? I can totally see the smaller and lighter M3 having an advantage here. Same as on autocross how Miatas rip apart 500+hp Corvettes and Evos.

Throw this on a 2+ minute/lap course and you'll see a very different result.

i think that moderatly skilled driver can extract much more of the potential of the gtr than they can of the m3. when you throw a super experinced driver ie leh keen in both he will be a huge amount faster than me in the m3 but only slightly quicker in the gtr. most really quick cars these days are getting around the track quicker because they are taking a lot of the driver out of the equation.

i think that moderatly skilled driver can extract much more of the potential of the gtr than they can of the m3. when you throw a super experinced driver ie leh keen in both he will be a huge amount faster than me in the m3 but only slightly quicker in the gtr. most really quick cars these days are getting around the track quicker because they are taking a lot of the driver out of the equation.

What you say is true. But in this case I think what we are seeing is a course advantage for the M3. As I said, stick the same cars and drivers on a larger course, you'll see a different result.

It would be very interesting to see what he can do with a GT3 RS, compared to the M3 and GT-R...

I was told he was doing mid/high 1:16's in a GT3 RS 4.0 (pictures on website) and they said the 3.8RS was 1 second off.
I'm not sure of the mods on the cars however (I know the 4.0 was either stock or close to it +PScups) hopefully TopSpeed will chime in to this thread if we keep it going.

Leh sold the M3 to Cicio who works with him @ TopSpeed. The M3 in the video is still very much around Atlanta and it's frequently at track events

Quote:

Originally Posted by Z K

What you say is true. But in this case I think what we are seeing is a course advantage for the M3. As I said, stick the same cars and drivers on a larger course, you'll see a different result.

Basically stick the cars on a course with long fast straight aways with lots of off camber elevation change and slow 1-2nd gear corners and it would favor the GTR's AWD and massive power advantage.
Keep in mind Roebling is still fast, the TSM One Lap GTR is well over 160mph on the front straight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chriszeh

i think that moderatly skilled driver can extract much more of the potential of the gtr than they can of the m3. when you throw a super experinced driver ie leh keen in both he will be a huge amount faster than me in the m3 but only slightly quicker in the gtr. most really quick cars these days are getting around the track quicker because they are taking a lot of the driver out of the equation.

Nailed it.

The most important thing I noticed here is how much a docile more "everyday friendly" car like an M3 benefits from aftermarket suspension, and relatively entry level aftermarket suspension at that. A stock GTR can do high 1:18's with 285 squared, but on R-Comps, JRZ and additional 130hp it only gains a mere 2 seconds give or take.

thats one of the main reasons i chose Topspeed over some of the other competition. They regularly track their cars in private days and have doug/lee there to work on setup and help their clients. I live like 35 mins from Roebling and spend atleast a couple days a month there.

Im waiting on parts to show up then the car gos off to atlanta for some topspeed love

I still cannot wrap my head around the power to weight ratio compared to a GT3. Everything says the GT3 should be significantly faster, so why isn't it?

Perhaps I should say power to weight to grip.

Having a track with little elevation change might have something to do with it, along with the fact that as far as I know they were pretty much dead stock, granted the M3 was Leh's and is now Cicio's DD with subwoofers in the description lol.
The GTR did a 1:18.2 on 285 square PSS.
If the M3 did a 1:16.95 on PSC and if the GT3 3.8RS did a 1:17.4 (1 second off the 4.0), that's only .8 tenths quicker then the GTR on PSS and less than .5 slower then the modified BMW. That sounds right... Again the M3 has adjustable dampers/camber/set to spec springs, and wheels but is a daily driver/Nav type of car